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ESET NOD32 Offers Continuous, Unobtrusive Protection to Reverse Trend of Gamers Disabling Antivirus Protection

SAN DIEGO and NEW YORK – November 21, 2006 – In an ongoing battle between performance and protection, the following scenario plays out every day around the world: 「Jeremy」 has invested thousands of dollars optimizing his PC to ensure maximum performance on his favorite games. He has found that his antivirus solution makes his system sluggish, hindering his play. He turns off his antivirus protection so his experience will not be affected, and settles in for competition against his virtual opponents. During play, he receives an instant message and clicks a link that immediately infects his system. Game over.

Today's online world is fraught with malware attacks and this scenario plays itself out for the tens of thousands of gamers who compromise their computer systems and personal information by not running an anti-malware solution. ESET, the leader in proactive threat protection, and Matrix Games, a computer and video games developer, have teamed up to reverse this disturbing trend. The strategic alliance will provide gamers with an automatic download of a free 30-day trial of ESET NOD32 software with the purchase of select Matrix Games.

CEO David Heath of Matrix Games said, 「I spend a lot of time on my PC, be it for work or play. As a businessman and a gamer, AV software can be as much trouble as helpful in protecting my PC. Most antivirus packages can cause all kinds of issues with PC programs, including massive PC slow downs, game lock-ups, and large memory usage, causing problems with installing new software.

「All I want from my AV application is to protect my PC at all times without a hassle; ESET NOD32 Antivirus software does that without all the unwanted drama. ESET NOD32 Antivirus allows me to run my PC without my anti-virus running me. I highly recommend ESET NOD32 antivirus to gamers who are fed up with other bloated AV solutions. ESET NOD32 Antivirus allows gamers to play hard, play fast and play protected.」

ESET's alliance with Matrix Games is part of its ongoing commitment to protect the gaming community and comes on the heels of a similar agreement announced last week with Tri Synergy, a computer and video game co-publishing company. The gaming community is especially vulnerable to exploits, including threats from connecting to a server without firewall protection, instant messaging or e-mailing while not running anti-malware. A recent Harris Interactive® survey found 65 percent of adults in North America turn off their antivirus solution because it slows their system.

「Our anti-malware solution is a perfect fit for gamers because it's virtually invisible on your PC,」 said Rick Moy, vice president of marketing, ESET, LLC. 「If you have invested a significant amount of money to enjoy the ideal playing experience, it makes sense to have ESET NOD32 running on your system to protect that investment from a growing number of threats that are designed to shut you down.」

Running with just four percent of system overhead, ESET NOD32 Antivirus provides industry-leading speed and performance while using its advanced heuristics technology to proactively identify potential threats. ESET NOD32 is fully compatible with 64-bit systems, ensuring gamers using the most powerful machines have complete protection from viruses, keyloggers, Trojans, phishing attacks, rootkits and other criminally motivated online threats.

About Matrix Games
Matrix Games produces, markets and publishes historical wargames as well as other computer gaming products. Since 2000, Matrix Games has published over two dozen titles and several award-winning games, including War in the Pacific, Highway to the Reich, Gary Grigsby's World at War, Flashpoint Germany, Battles in Normandy, Starshatter and Tin Soldiers: Julius Caesar. Matrix Games is based in Staten Island, New York. For more information, visit the Matrix Games website at http://www.matrixgames.com/.

About ESET NOD32
High-performance, low-impact ESET NOD32 Antivirus software offers consumers and businesses comprehensive protection in a product designed to automatically update behind-the- scenes without impacting other applications, so users always have the most current protection available. ESET NOD32 Antivirus version 2.7 utilizes ThreatSense® technology, a sophisticated detection system based on advanced heuristics, to proactively identify previously unknown viruses, Trojans and phishing attacks in real time. ThreatSense is built into ESET NOD32's single scanning engine to provide comprehensive protection so users do not need to rely on additional point solutions for malware protection.